Continuous improvement planning through sustainability assessment of product-service systems

Abstract

The paper presents a methodology for the integrated sustainability assessment of a product-service system lifecycle, with the purpose to support continuous improvement on the side both of the manufacturer and of the user. Its eight steps are an extension of ISO 14040 life cycle assessment and consider all three sustainability dimensions - economic, environmental and social - And a service perspective, using the service unit. A set of indicators for the three dimensions, aligned to the service unit concept, is proposed based on literature suggestions

Analysing the support of sustainability within the manufacturing strategy through multiple perspectives of different business functions

“…Coherently with the presence of standards and management frameworks, numerous sustainability assessment methodologies have been discussed in the extant body of literature, in which the majority of them focuses on one specific sustainability dimension (Gokan and Stahl, 2017). Within this dimension, few impact categories are addressed (Negri et al, 2016). Indeed, it is rare that these methodologies reach a complete integration over the "triple bottom line", even if authors wish for it (Klöpffer, 2008;Rebitzer et al, 2003).…”

“…Besides, the MIPS methodology (material input per service unit) developed by the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy (Lettenmeier, 2009;Ritthoff et al, 2002), aims to support the quantification of materials and energy needed to provide a service, considering the lifecycle of products and then expanding the evaluation to a wider service perspective through the concept of service unit. The economic dimension is rich in terms of assessment methodologies that provide appropriate indicators related to the Life Cycle Cost (LCC), which is the economic counterpart of the environmental LCA (see, e.g., a review of indicators in (Negri et al, 2016)). Concerning the social dimension, the assessment methodologies are being adapted to achieve the social life cycle assessment (SLCA) (Dreyer et al, 2006).…”

Hybrid approach for solving the integrated planning and scheduling production problem

“…Production planning plays an imperative part in manufacturing organization. In each stage of the transformation of raw materials into finished goods, it requires a meticulous production planning to confirm the achievement of the production targets and optimize the resources (Attri and Grover, 2017;Bhagwan and Dangayach, 2017) and also to improve the quality of industrial services (Negri and Holgado, 2016;Bajjou and Chafi, 2018;Jarkas and Haupt, 2015). According to Talbi et al (2016) "Well managing production means first recognizing and understanding the needs and objectives of the company's strategy.…”

Achieving Corporate Sustainability: Toward a Practical Theory

“…Since the 1980s, numerous researchers around the globe [1] have been seeking for an alternative approach to the prevailing capitalism which promotes short-term maximization of shareholder-value and takes advantage of the rest of the society. Although the sustainable corporation concept has been a subject of interest among scholars around the globe for some time [2][3][4][5][6][7], very little is known about a holistic approach, as opposed to simply a one-dimensional concept such as sustainable supply chain, green operation or the triple bottom line.…”